Free Republic

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Two women, including a Smith College student, pleaded innocent to charges they raped and handcuffed another female student and slashed her with knives. Rachel Ann Klobertanz, 22, and Augusta Claire Kendall, 22, were ordered held on $25,000 bail at their arraignment Tuesday in Northampton District Court. Both were charged with two counts of aggravated rape, three counts of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault and battery.

Can we officially stop worrying about girls now? From the sad and starving girls of Reviving Ophelia (Ballantine, $7.99) to the really mean girls of Queen Bees and Wannabes (Crown Publishers, $24), an entire industry is devoted to chick-related handwringing. The culture damages their fragile emotional lives, people say. Girls are afraid to speak up for themselves. Math teachers don't call on them. They bully each other to cope with their systemic oppression. Yet, somehow, teen girls seem to be doing just fine. They are proud of their bodies, showing off all manner of bellies below their baby-sized T-shirts. They...